For the purpose of promoting the health, safety,
convenience, morals and welfare of its inhabitants, the Town, under
the authority granted by MGL c. 40A, §§ 1 to 22 inclusive,
does hereby enact this chapter, to be hereafter known and designated
as the "Zoning Ordinance" of the Town. Further purposes of this chapter
are to lessen congestion in the streets, to secure safety from fire,
panic and other danger, to provide adequate light and air, to prevent
the overcrowding of land, to avoid undue concentration of population,
to facilitate the adequate provision of transportation, water, sewerage,
schools, parks and other public requirements and to increase the amenities
of the Town.

For the purpose of this chapter, certain terms and words shall have
the following meanings. Words used in the present tense include the
future; the plural number includes the singular; the words "used"
or "occupied" include the words "designed," "arranged," "intended"
or "offered to be used or occupied"; the words "building," "structure,"
"lot," "land" or "premises" shall be construed as though followed
by the words "or any portion thereof"; and the word "shall" is always
mandatory and not merely directory.

Terms and words not defined herein but defined in the Building Code[1] or Subdivision Regulations[2] shall have the meanings given therein unless a contrary
intention clearly appears. Words not defined in either place shall
have the meanings given in the most recent edition of Webster's
Unabridged Dictionary.

The cessation of a nonconforming use or structure as indicated
by the visible or otherwise indicated intention to discontinue a nonconforming
use of a structure or a lot, or the cessation of a nonconforming use
or structure by its replacement with a conforming use or structure.

Capacity is considered to be adequate if the grade of service
is p. 05 or better for a worst-case day in a preceding month, based
on the Erllang B Tables, prior to the date of application; or as measured
using direct traffic measurement of the personal wireless service
facility in question for existing facilities requesting major modification
and where the call blocking is due to frequency contention at the
antenna(s).

Coverage is considered to be adequate within that area surrounding
a base station where the predicted or measured median field strength
of the transmitted signal for at least 75% of the covered area is
greater than -95 dbm. It is acceptable for there to be holes within
the area of adequate coverage where the signal is less than -95 dbm,
as long as the signal regains its strength to greater than -95 dbm
further away from the base station. For the limited purpose of determining
whether the use of a repeater is necessary or desirable, there shall
be deemed not to be adequate coverage within said holes. The outer
boundary of the area of adequate coverage, however, is that location
past which the signal does not regain a strength of greater than -95
dbm.

The production, keeping or maintenance, for sale or lease,
of plants and animals useful to man, including but not limited to:
forages and sod crops; grains and seed crops; dairy animals and dairy
products; poultry and poultry products; livestock, including beef
cattle, swine, horses, mules, ponies, or goats or any mutations of
hybrids thereof, including the breeding and grazing of any or all
such animals, bees, and apiary products, for animals, trees and forest
products; fruits of all kinds, including grapes, nuts and berries,
vegetables, floral, nursery, ornamental and greenhouse products; or
lands devoted to a soil conservation or forestry management program.

A commercially operated park with a predominance of outdoor
games and activities for entertainment, including shows or riding
devices, games of skill or chance, or any combination of shows, riding
devices, water slides, miniature golf, batting cages or any combination
of several enterprises, such as revolving wheels, merry-go-rounds,
giant swings, panoramas, musical and theatrical entertainments, or
riding devices, whether carried on, engaged in or conducted as one
enterprise or by several concessionaries, and whether an admission
fee is charged for admission to all such shows for entertainment,
or a separate fee for admission is charged for each amusement.

A building or structure arranged, intended and designed to
be occupied by two to eight families, living independently of each
other, and each including its own separate kitchen and bathroom accommodations.
Garden-type apartments shall be considered as an apartment house.

A structure enclosed within exterior walls or firewalls,
built, erected and framed of a combination of any materials, whether
portable or fixed, having a roof, to form a structure for the shelter
of persons, animals or property. For the purpose of this definition,
"roof" shall include an awning or any similar covering, whether or
not permanent in nature. The word "building" shall be construed, where
the context requires, as though followed by words "or part or parts
thereof." A porch or an attached garage, greenhouse or similar structure
is to be considered as part of a building when considering the requirements
of setback, side or rear yards.

Land used or intended to be used for the burial of the dead
and dedicated for cemetery purposes, including columbariums, crematoriums,
mausoleums, and funeral establishments, when operated in conjunction
with and within the boundary of such cemetery under the care and supervision
of the Town or other public authority.

Facilities that serve children under seven years of age,
or 16 years if the children have special needs, or school-age children
(under 14 years of age or 16 years if they have special needs), in
programs that are held before or after school hours or during vacations.
A child-care facility defined in MGL c. 28A, § 9.

Buildings, structures and premises used by a nonprofit social
or civic organization or by a nonprofit organization, catering exclusively
to members and their guests for social, civic, recreation, or athletic
purposes which are not conducted primarily for gain and provided there
are no vending stands, merchandising, or commercial activities except
as may be required generally for the membership and purposes of such
organization.

A structure for recreational, social or amusement purposes,
which may include as an accessory use the consumption of food and
drink, including all connected rooms or space with a common means
of egress and entrance. Places of assembly shall include theaters,
concert halls, dance halls, skating rinks, bowling alleys, health
clubs, dance studios, or other commercial recreational centers conducted
for or not for profit.

A building containing a furnace designed and intended to
be used for cremating the dead and owned and controlled by a cemetery
corporation or crematory corporation duly organized under the laws
of the state.

A building designed and occupied as the living quarters of
one or more families. Single- and two-family dwellings shall be designed
for and occupied by not more than one or two families, respectively.
A multifamily dwelling shall be one designed for and occupied by two
or more families. Hotels, lodging houses, hospitals, membership clubs,
or dormitories shall not be considered dwellings.

Extraction of sand, gravel, topsoil, or other earth for sale
or for use at a site removed from the place of extraction, exclusive
of the grading of a lot preparatory to the construction of a building
for which a building permit has been issued or the grading of streets
in accordance with an approved definitive plan, and exclusive of granite
operations.

Use of land or structures for education purposes on land
owned or leased by the commonwealth or any of its agencies, subdivisions
or bodies politic or by a religious sect or denomination or by a nonprofit
education corporation. Educational facilities not exempted from regulation
by MGL c. 40A, § 3.

To build, construct, reconstruct, move upon, or conduct any
physical development of the premises required for a building; to excavate,
fill, drain, and the like preparation for building shall also be considered
to erect.

Services provided by a public service corporation or by governmental
agencies through erection, construction, alteration, or maintenance
of gas, electrical, steam, or water transmission or distribution systems
and collection, communication, supply, or disposal systems, whether
underground or overhead, but not including wireless communications
facilities. Facilities necessary for the provision of essential services
include poles, wires, drains, sewers, pipes, conduits, cables, fire
alarm boxes, police call boxes, traffic signals, hydrants and other
similar equipment in connection therewith.

The location within a Wireless Telecommunications Overlay
District leased by one or more personal wireless service providers
and upon which one or more personal wireless service facility(ies)
and required landscaping are located.

A number of individuals related by blood, marriage and/or
adoption or a group of unrelated individuals, not to exceed four,
who are occupying a dwelling unit and living as a single nonprofit
housekeeping unit. This definition, however, does not apply to nonrelated
disabled persons as defined by any applicable federal and/or state
law and/or regulations.

Any private residence which on a regular basis receives for
temporary custody and care, during part or all of the day, children
under seven years of age or children under 16 years of age if such
children have special needs; provided, however, in either case, that
the total number of children shall not exceed more than six, excluding
participating children living in the residence.

A facility for the sale of produce, and wine and dairy products,
provided that during the months of June, July, August, and September
of every year, or during the harvest season of the primary crop raised
on land of the owner or lessee, the majority of such products for
sale, based on either gross sales dollars or volume, have been produced
by the owner or lessee of land containing more than five acres on
which the facility is located, used primarily for agriculture in conformance
with MGL c. 40A, § 3.

The channel of a river or other watercourse and the adjacent
land areas that must be reserved in order to discharge the base flood
without cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation more than
one foot.

A building or space used as an accessory to or a part of
a main building permitted in any residential district, and providing
for the storage of one or more motor vehicles and in which no business,
occupation or service for profit is in any way conducted.

A building or portion thereof, other than a private or storage
garage, designed or used for equipping, servicing, repairing, hiring,
selling, and/or storing of motor vehicles. The term "repairing" shall
not include an automobile body repair shop nor the rebuilding, dismantling,
or storage of wrecked or junked vehicles.

A gasoline service station shall include any business selling
or offering for sale any motor fuel, such as gasoline or diesel fuel,
to the public, whether or not the public is permitted or expected
to operate the pump to put the fuel into a motor vehicle's fuel
tank or a container, and shall include gasoline filling stations and
gasoline self-service stations. For the purposes of this chapter,
"gasoline service station" shall also include any site used or operated
as a retail refueling site, including the fuels of gasoline, propane,
electricity and hydrogen.

A measure of the percentage of calls which are able to connect
to the base station during the busiest hour of the day. Grade of service
is expressed as a number, such as p. 05, which means that 95% of callers
will connect on their first try. A lower number (p. 04) indicates
a better grade of service.

The vertical distance from the average finished grade of
the adjacent ground to the top of the structure of the highest roof
beams of a flat roof, or the mean level of the highest gable or slope
of a hip roof.

An institution providing primary health services and medical
or surgical care to persons, primarily inpatients, suffering from
illness, disease, injury, deformity and other abnormal physical or
mental conditions, and including, as an integral part of the institution
related facilities such as laboratories, outpatient facilities or
training facilities, a sanitarium, and clinic. The term "hospital"
does not include a rest home, nursing home and/or convalescent home.

A wrecked, damaged, destroyed, nonoperational, abandoned
or disassembled trailer, house trailer, boat, tractor, automobile,
aircraft, or other motor vehicle, or any parts thereof. A junk vehicle
includes apparently inoperable, immobile, disassembled or extensively
damaged vehicles. Evidence of nonoperation and damage includes, but
is not limited to, a buildup of debris that obstructs use, a broken
window or windshield, a missing wheel, a flat tire, a nonfunctional
motor or transmission, missing bumpers, or missing plates and the
like.

A building containing more than five lodging units for semipermanent
residence (longer than one week) for compensation and which meals
may also be supplied as part of the fee. This shall not include bed-and-breakfast
home uses, congregate housing, motels, hotels, multifamily dwellings,
or nursing homes.

Space located on the same lot with a principal building,
or contiguous to a group of buildings, for bulk pickups and deliveries,
scaled to delivery vehicles expected to be used, and accessible to
such vehicles when required off-street parking spaces are filled.
It shall abut a street, alley, or other appropriate means of ingress
or egress.

A lot line coinciding with the sideline of a street which
provides legal rights of vehicular access and actual physical vehicular
access to the lot. Frontage shall be measured continuously along a
street and shall be the horizontal distance between the side lot lines
measured at the point where the side lot lines intersect with the
front setback line. Lots adjacent to paper streets may not use any
portion of the paper street in calculating frontage or lot area.

Any change or proposed change in power input or output, number
of antennas, change in antenna type or model, repositioning of antenna(s),
change in number of channels per antenna above the maximum number
approved under an existing special permit. Also any increase or proposed
increase in dimensions of an existing and permitted tower or other
structure designed to support personal wireless service transmissions,
receiving and/or relaying antennas and/or equipment.

The testing protocol, initially the Cobbs Protocol, which
is to be used to monitor the emissions from existing and new personal
wireless service facilities and towers upon adoption of this chapter.
The SPGA may, as the technology changes, require, by written regulation,
the use of other testing protocols. A copy of the monitoring protocol
shall be on file with the Town Clerk.

Any vehicle used or designed to be used for business or commercial
purposes that infringes on the residential character of residential
districts and includes, but is not necessarily limited to, a bus,
cement truck, commercial tree-trimming equipment, construction equipment,
dump truck, garbage truck, panel truck, semitractor, semitrailer,
stake bed truck, step van, tank truck, tar truck, fire truck, or the
like, or other commercial-type vehicle licensed by the state as a
commercial vehicle or truck.

An establishment, garage or work area enclosed within a building
where repairs are made or caused to be made to motor vehicles and
their bodies, including fenders, bumpers and similar components of
motor vehicle bodies, but does not include the storage of vehicles
for the cannibalization of parts or fuel sales.

An extended or intermediate care facility licensed or approved
to provide full-time convalescent or chronic care to individuals who,
by reason of advanced age, chronic illness or infirmity, are unable
to care for themselves.

A registered marijuana dispensary that is located off site
from the cultivation/processing facility (and controlled and operated
by the same registered and approved not-for-profit entity which operates
an affiliated RMD) but which serves only to dispense the processed
marijuana, related supplies and educational materials to registered
qualifying patients or their personal caregivers in accordance with
the provisions of 105 CMR 725.00.

A space of 200 square feet or more plus access and maneuvering
space, whether inside or outside a structure, for exclusive use as
a parking stall for one motor vehicle, and further being surfaced
with durable pavement.

All equipment (excluding any repeaters) with which a personal
wireless service provider broadcasts and receives the radio frequency
waves which carry their services and all locations of said equipment
or any part thereof. This facility may be sited on one or more towers
or structures(s) owned and permitted by another owner or entity.

The main or primary purpose for which a structure or lot
is designed, arranged or intended, or for which it may be used, occupied
or maintained under this chapter. Any other use within the main structure
or the use of any other structure or land on the same lot and incidental
or supplementary to the principal use and permitted under this chapter
shall be considered an accessory use.

Computer-generated estimates of the radiation emanating from
antennas or repeaters sited on a specific tower or structure. The
height above mean sea level, power input and output, frequency output,
type of antenna, antenna gain, topography of the site and its surroundings
are all taken into account to create these simulations. They are the
primary tool for determining whether a site will provide adequate
coverage for the personal wireless service facility proposed for that
site.

A use operated by a not-for-profit entity registered and
approved by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health in accordance
with 105 CMR 725.000, and pursuant to all other applicable state laws
and regulations, also to be known as a "medical marijuana treatment
center," that acquires, cultivates, possesses, processes (including
development of related products such as food, tinctures, aerosols,
oils, or ointments), transfers, transports, sells, distributes, dispenses,
or administers marijuana, products containing marijuana, related supplies,
or educational materials to registered qualifying patients or their
personal caregivers. An RMD shall explicitly include facilities which
cultivate and process medical marijuana and which may also dispense
and deliver medical marijuana and related products. The cultivation
and processing of medical marijuana in accordance with these regulations
is considered to be a manufacturing use and is not agriculturally
exempt from zoning.

A building, or portion thereof, which is designed, intended
and used for the indoor sales and consumption of food prepared on
the premises, except that food may be consumed outdoors in landscaped
terraces, designed for dining purposes, which are adjuncts to the
main indoor restaurant facility. The term "restaurant" shall not include
"fast-food establishments."

An establishment engaged primarily in the business of preparing
food and purveying it on a self-service or semi-self-service basis.
Customer orders and/or service may be by means of a walk-up counter
or window designed to accommodate automobile traffic. Consumption
is either on or off the premises.

Establishments primarily engaged in rendering services by
professional persons on a fee or contract basis, including, but not
limited to, the following: accounting, auditing, and bookkeeping;
medical, dental or health; planning, engineering and architectural;
education and science; attorneys and notary publics; etc.

The minimum required unoccupied space or area between the
street line of which the building is numbered or would be numbered
and the part of the building nearest such street line, such unoccupied
space or area extending the entire width or distance across the lot.

The required unoccupied space and area within the lot between
the side lot line and parts of the building nearest such side lot
line. In the case of a corner lot, one of the side yards shall be
the unoccupied space or area between the street line of the side street
and the parts of the building nearest to such street line.

Area of the face. The area of the face of a sign shall be considered
to include all lettering, working and accompanying designs and symbols,
together with the background on which they are displayed and any cutouts
or extensions.

The area of a sign consisting of individual letters or symbols
attached to or painted on a surface, building, wall or window shall
be considered to be that of the smallest quadrangle or triangle which
encompasses all the letters and symbols.

A plan, to scale, showing uses and structures proposed for
a parcel of land as required by the zoning regulations, including
lot lines, streets, building sites, buildings, landscape features,
traffic circulation, parking, drainage, utilities, signs, topography
and lighting within the parcel.

The horizontal portion through a building between floor and
ceiling. The word "story" shall not include the portion of the basement
or cellar of a building above grade or an attic as defined in this
section.

An accepted Town way, or a way established by or maintained
under county, state, or federal authority, or a way established by
a subdivision plan approved in accordance with the Subdivision Control
Law,[3] actually constructed to specifications or for which adequate
security exists to construct such a way.

A general term denoting land, property or interest therein,
usually a strip acquired for or devoted to a planned roadway. A street
right-of-way should be sufficient to accommodate the ultimate roadway,
including, but not limited to, the street pavement, shoulder, grass
strip, sidewalk, public utility facilities, street trees, and snow
storage.

A combination of materials assembled at a fixed location
to give support or shelter, such as a building, framework, retaining
wall, tent, reviewing stand, platform, bin fence, sign, flagpole,
recreational tramway, and mast for radio antenna or the like. The
word "structure" shall be construed, where the context allows, as
though followed by the words "or part or parts thereof."

Any repair, reconstruction or improvement of a structure,
the cost of which equals or exceeds 50% of the assessed value of the
structure either before the improvement is started or, if the structure
has been damaged and is being restored, before the damage occurred.
Substantial improvement is started when the first alteration of any
structural part of the building commences.

Any so-called automobile trailer, mobile home or trailer
coach, including any portable structure, means of conveyance or vehicle
so designed or constructed, altered or converted in any manner as
to permit occupancy thereof for dwelling or sleeping purposes.

Any motor vehicle or trailer not registered in accordance
with Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 90, or any motor vehicle which
fails to carry or display its license plate as provided in § 6
of said Chapter 90; or any motor vehicle or trailer owned by a nonresident
who has failed to comply with the registration laws of the nonresident
state or country.

A use which by reason of its normal operation would cause
readily observable differences in patronage, service, sight, noise,
employment or similar characteristics from the use to which it is
being compared.

Specific area(s), determined by engineering analysis to contain
sites where adequate service may be provided to the Town of Agawam,
which, at the same time, have the potential of reducing or mitigating
negative impacts in accordance with the overlay district as defined
in this chapter.

The required unoccupied space or area within the lot between
the side lot line and parts of the building nearest such side lot
line. In the case of a corner lot, one of the side yards shall be
the unoccupied space or area between the street line of the side street
and the parts of the building nearest to such street line.

The boundaries of each district area hereby established
as shown on the building zone map entitled: “Town of Agawam,
Building Zone Map” one inch equals 800 feet and dated effective
1960, revised September 7, 2006, which is hereby declared to be a
part of this chapter. Such shall be hereinafter referred to as the
“Building Zone Map.”[1]

Unless otherwise ordered by the Inspector of
Buildings, all applications for building permits under the provisions
of the Building Code[1] of the Town shall be accompanied by plans in duplicate.
Such plans shall be drawn to scale, shall show the actual dimensions,
radii and angles of the lot to be built upon, the exact size and location
on the lot of the main building and accessory buildings to be erected
and such other information as may be amended. One copy of the plans
filed by the applicant shall be returned to him when approved by the
Inspector of Buildings.

Any building permit issued prior to a notice
of a hearing on the question of the enactment of this chapter shall
be valid, provided that the construction work thereunder is commenced
within six months after its issuance.

Hereafter no land shall be occupied or used and no
building or structure which is erected or altered or in which the
type of use is changed shall be occupied or used, in whole or in part,
for any purpose until a certificate of occupancy is issued by the
Inspector of Buildings stating that the building, structure or use
complies with the provisions of this chapter. No such certificate
shall be issued unless the building or structure and its uses, as
well as the uses of all the premises, are in conformity with the provisions
of this chapter.

Upon completion or alteration of any building or structure
and prior to the use of any such building, structure or premises,
a certificate of occupancy shall be applied for on a form furnished
by the Inspector of Buildings. Such application shall be acted upon
within two days after the filing thereof.

A nonconforming use and/or building is the lawful use of a structure
or land, or lawful construction of a building at the time of the enactment
of this chapter or of a prior ordinance applicable thereto, but which
does not conform to the requirements after the adoption of this chapter
or to this chapter as amended in the district in which it is located.

The Zoning Administrator has the authority to issue permits,
in writing, for alterations or enlargements thereto, if such alteration
or enlargement, of and by itself, does not create any new nonconformities.

May be rebuilt or restored and again used as previously,
in case of a building destroyed or damaged by fire, explosion or other
casualty, provided that not more than 75% of the building or structure
exclusive of foundations has been so damaged or destroyed, except
that the Board of Appeals may order a permit issued in any case of
such loss. Rebuilding or restoration, when permitted, shall be commenced
within six months after such catastrophe or disaster and continuously
carried to completion.

When a nonconforming use is discontinued as evidenced
by lack of use or vacancy for a continuous period of 12 months or
by the substitution of a more restricted use or of a conforming use,
such nonconforming use shall not thereafter be reestablished, and
all future uses shall be in conformity with the provisions of this
chapter.

This section shall apply to any change of use and
to any alteration of a building or structure when the same would amount
to reconstruction, extension or structural change and to any alteration
of a building or structure to provide for its use for a purpose or
in a manner substantially different from the use to which it was put
before alteration or for its use for the same purpose to a substantially
greater extent.

Fences or walls. Fence heights shall not exceed four
feet on the setback portion of any lot perimeter and shall not exceed
6 1/2 feet in height on the remainder of the lot perimeter. On
a lot which is adjacent to a higher zone classification, the fence
heights shall conform to the higher classification. Notwithstanding
the foregoing, fences may be erected by special permit to a height
in excess of four feet, but not to exceed 6 1/2 feet, on the setback
portion of any corner lot perimeter only.

Location of automobile services. Public garages, automobile
repair shops, greasing stations, storage battery service stations,
gasoline filling stations or any of their appurtenances or accessory
uses shall hereafter be erected or placed at least 25 feet from any
residence or agricultural district, unless the spaces so used are
entirely enclosed in masonry or concrete walls having fixed steel
sash wire glass and having roofs without openings, except skylights
with metal frames glazed with wire glass. Driveways and parking areas
shall not have entrances or exits for motor vehicles within 100 feet,
measured along the street line, of property on which there is a school,
library, church, playground or institution for the sick, blind or
feeble or for children under 16 years of age.

A triangular area free from obstruction shall be provided
in which nothing shall be erected or maintained between a point 2 1/2
feet above the street grade and a point eight feet above the street
grade and measuring at least 10 feet back from the point of intersection
on each of such streets.

Unless otherwise provided in this section, there shall
be no removal from the premises in any district of any sod, loam,
clay, sand, gravel or quarried stone except as surplus material resulting
from the construction of a building on the premises or the installation
of a structure on the premises for which a permit has been issued.

The Board of Appeals may grant a permit in any district
for the removal of sod or loam from any area, provided that no less
than four inches of topsoil or loam remains, and provided further
that the entire area disturbed is seeded with a suitable cover crop
or is put to cultivation.

The plan shall provide for proper drainage of
the area of the operation during and after completion, and no bank
shall exceed a slope of one foot of vertical rise in 1 1/2 feet
of horizontal distance except in ledge rock. No removal shall take
place within 20 feet of a property line, except that, where the grade
from a property line rises towards the lot where removal is to take
place, material lying above the grade at the property line may be
removed.

At the conclusion of the operation or of any
substantial portion thereof, the whole area where removal takes place
shall be covered with not less than four inches of topsoil and seeded
with a suitable cover crop, except where ledge rock is exposed.

Before a permit is granted under this section,
the applicant, if required by the Board of Appeals, shall post a bond
with the Town Treasurer in an amount approved by the Board of Appeals
as sufficient to guarantee conformity with the provisions of the permit
issued hereunder.

Animal hospitals, kennels and runs. Kennel runs or
accessory buildings and the raising of fur-bearing animals on land
zoned as agricultural is allowed only after a hearing by the Board
of Appeals. This land parcel must be five acres or more in area, with
the following additional requirements:

Measurement of setbacks. To make provision for future
fifty-foot roads, in the case of lots fronting on streets less than
50 feet in width, the required front yard setback shall be measured
from a point 25 feet from the existing center of the roadway.

Swimming pools in residential districts. No swimming
pool shall be constructed within any required front yard, nor within
10 feet from any side or rear lot line. Below-ground swimming pools
having a depth of two feet shall be surrounded by a protective fence
not less than four feet high. Any opening in such fence shall be protected
by a gate equipped with a secure locking device.

Keeping of horses and ponies. Notwithstanding the
permitted uses contained in the individual zoning district and sections
of this chapter, the keeping of horses and ponies shall be permitted
only in Agricultural, Residence A-2, Industrial A and B and Business
A and B Districts, subject to the following requirements and regulations:

Acreage. Three-fourths acre (32,670 square feet) shall
be required for one horse or pony; 1/2 acre (21,780 square feet) shall
be required for each additional equine. Foals under six months shall
not be counted.

Farm worker housing. Housing for farm workers located on land used for farming or agricultural purposes shall constitute an accessory use to farming in accordance with the Agawam Zoning Code § 180-37, and such housing is a permitted use as of right in an Agricultural District Zone and/or on parcels of land not in an agricultural zone exceeding five acres which are used for agricultural purposes. This regulation shall be applicable to all requests for site plan, building permit and all other approvals relating to farm worker housing, whether the request(s) involve the use, expansion, reconstruction of existing structures, and/or new construction of buildings or structures.

No appeal or petition under MGL c. 40A, § 15(3),
as amended, for a variance from the terms of this chapter with respect
to a particular plot of land and no application under MGL c. 40A,
§ 20 for a special exception to the terms of this chapter
which has been unfavorably acted upon by the Board of Appeals shall
be considered on its merits by such Board within two years after the
date of such unfavorable action except with the consent of all the
members of the Planning Board.

No proposed ordinance or amendment making a
change in this chapter which has been unfavorably acted upon by the
Town Council shall be considered on its merits by the Town Council
within two years after the date of such unfavorable action unless
adoption of such proposed ordinance or amendment is recommended in
the final report of the Planning Board as required by MGL c. 40A,
§ 6, as amended.

Authority and rules. The Board of Appeals by virtue
of the authority vested in it by statute may, after public notice
and hearing, in appropriate cases and subject to appropriate conditions
and safeguards grant a special use permit exception to the terms of
the Zoning Ordinance in harmony with the general purpose and intent
of this chapter. The special permit granting authority may adopt and
from time to time amend rules and regulations relative to the issuance
of such permits and shall file a copy of said rules and regulations
in the office of the Town Clerk.

The special permit granting authority shall hold a
public hearing within 65 days after the filing of an application with
the special permit granting authority, a copy of which shall forthwith
be given to the Town Clerk by the applicant.

The special permit granting authority shall require
notice be given by publication in a newspaper of general circulation
in the Town once in each of two successive weeks, the first publication
to be not less than 14 days before the hearing, and by posting such
notice in a conspicuous place in the Town Hall. Notice shall be sent
by mail, postage prepaid, to the petitioner, abutters and owners of
land within 300 feet of the property line as they appear on the most
recent applicable tax list, including those in another city or Town
and the Planning Boards of all abutting cities and towns. Such notice
shall be prepared, published, posted and mailed by the Board of Appeals.

The special permit granting authority shall act within
90 days following the public hearing. Failure to take final action
upon an application for a special permit within said 90 days shall
be deemed a grant of the permit applied for.

Upon granting of a special permit, a copy shall be
issued to the owner and the applicant, if other than the owner of
the property, certified by the special permit granting authority.
No special permit shall take effect until a copy of the decision certified
by the Town Clerk that 20 days have elapsed and no appeal has been
filed, or if such appeal has been filed, that it has been dismissed
or denied, is recorded in the Registry of Deeds wherein the land is
located.

Duration. A special permit granted by the special
permit granting authority shall lapse if a substantial use thereof
has not commenced within two years, or in the case of construction,
if construction has not begun within said two years. Exception may
be made for good cause by the special permit granting authority.

Special consideration. Special permits shall be issued
by the special permit granting authority for uses, whether or not
on the same parcel as activities permitted as a matter of right, which
are necessary in connection with scientific research or scientific
development or related production where the special permit granting
authority finds that the proposed accessory use does not substantially
derogate from the public good.

Planning Board report. The Planning Board shall transmit
a report to the special permit granting authority on each special
permit application. The Planning Board shall be notified at least
14 days prior to the public hearing on such a special permit. However,
the special permit granting authority may act in the absence of a
report from the Planning Board after this fourteen-day period.

Zoning Officer report. The Zoning Officer shall transmit
a report to the special permit granting authority on each special
permit application. The Zoning Officer shall be notified at least
14 days prior to the public hearing on such a special permit. However,
the special permit granting authority may act in the absence of a
report from the Zoning Officer after this fourteen-day period.

The special use exception may be granted for a specific
use that is not considered so objectionable or obnoxious that the
proposed use would be against the public interest or detrimental or
injurious to the character of the neighborhood.

Conditions attached to special permit approvals. In
approving a special permit, the special permit granting authority
may attach such conditions and safeguards as are deemed necessary
to protect the neighborhood, such as, but not limited to, the following:

Effect of denial. If the special permit granting authority
after said hearing denies the use applied for, no further application
for the same use will be entertained by the Board of Appeals for a
period of two years from the date of said denial.

A special permit may be granted for an animal
hospital, but only in Business A and Business B Districts and with
the additional requirements that animal hospitals shall be separate
buildings in themselves and that no animals shall be kept out of the
building in cages, runs, kennels or yards. A special permit may be
granted subject to any other conditions and safeguards as are prescribed
by the Board of Appeals.

Site plans prepared and approved in accordance with
this section shall be required to assist the Inspector of Buildings
in the review of certain applications for building permits and to
assure compliance with all applicable requirements of this chapter.

Any proposed residential, business, industrial, institutional
or other use of a new or renovated structure or of a parcel of land,
or any change in any such use, structure or parcel, except for one-family
detached dwellings and duplexes on separate lots.

Any major change in any condition or feature which
is not in conformance with any feature of a previously approved site
plan. Changes to parking and/or curb cuts will always necessitate
site plan review.

An applicant for site plan review under this section
shall file with the Building Department 10 copies each of an application
and a site plan. The site plan shall be prepared by an engineer, architect
or landscape architect unless otherwise specified by the Planning
Board.

Provision for the handling of vehicular traffic
flow. All curb cuts must be clearly defined with widths and radii
noted on the plan. Radii shall meet Town standards. Parking lot and
site traffic flow must be clearly noted with signs or other methods
if it is to be maintained as one-way.

Within 21 days of receipt, the Planning Board shall
hold a public meeting. The Planning Board shall within 35 days of
receipt approve the site plan, approve it with modifications or return
it for changes or additional information. When changes have been made
or additional information provided, the above-specified time limits
will apply. The Planning Board can in certain cases extend the review
period if done so in writing and for good reason; however, the review
period shall not exceed 90 days. A report containing the findings
of the Board shall be submitted to the Inspector of Buildings for
consideration in issuing a building permit.

No zone as indicated on the Building Zone Map
which is a part of this chapter shall be changed until after the Planning
Board has held a public hearing thereon after due notice given and
has submitted a final report with the recommendations to the Town.

The Inspector of Buildings shall enforce the
provision of this chapter or any amendment thereof. He shall refuse
to grant a permit for the construction, addition, alteration or change
of use of any building, structure or premises if such proposed construction,
addition, alteration or change of use would be in violation of any
of the provisions of this chapter, as amended. State and Town officers
shall refuse any permit or license for a new use of a building, structure
or land which would be in violation of this chapter or amendment thereof.

Any person, partnership, trust, association
or corporation violating any provision of this chapter, any condition
under which any permit is issued or any decision rendered by the Board
of Appeals shall be fined not more than $100 nor less than $25 for
each offense. Each day that such violation exists shall constitute
a separate offense under this section.

Any violation of this Chapter 180 may, in the discretion of the Board of Appeals, be enforced by the Zoning Enforcement Officer, or the Inspector of Buildings, or their designee, by the noncriminal complaint method for which provision is made, and/or as set forth in MGL c. 40, § 21D, as amended from time to time, that is, non-criminal disposition. Fines issued pursuant to § 180-16.1 shall be as follows: